The report, released in partnership with the New York University Stern School of Business says globalisation proved much more resilient during the Covid-19 crisis than many predicted.
At the start of the pandemic, trade took a major hit but was above pre-pandemic levels before the end of 2020 and set new records in 2021.
John Pearson, CEO of DHL Express says many feared the progress of globalisation would be jeopardised by the crisis, saying: “We have been analysing the various international flows worldwide for years and after 1.5 years of the pandemic, we can now safely assure: the pandemic has not caused globalisation to collapse. After initial dips in 2020, the DHL Global Connectedness Index is already on the rise again this year.”
Steven A. Altman, Senior Research Scholar and Director of the DHL Initiative on Globalization, NYU Stern says the resilience of global flows is good news because a connected world offers the best prospects for a strong and sustainable recovery.
He says: “When a crisis strikes, many of us naturally feel a strong impulse to hunker down behind borders. But the more extreme the challenge, the more urgent it becomes to draw upon the best ideas and resources from at home and abroad.”